The invention relates to a buckle carrier unit for a seat belt system in a vehicle.
Owing to the low travelling noise level achieved nowadays in the automotive industry any sources of noise seem more unpleasant than in motor vehicles having a high travelling noise level. In particular noises caused by the striking together of individual components within the passenger compartment are found to be unpleasant and disturbing by vehicle occupants.
One source of these disturbing rattling noises can be a seat belt buckle carrier unit that strikes, for example, against a central console or a seat during travel. This is the case, in particular, if the passenger seat to which this buckle carrier unit belongs is unoccupied and/or the space between this seat and the central console is relatively narrow as, for example, in sports cars, small cars, etc.
In practice, strips of felt have been stuck onto the duct cover surrounding the connecting element to avoid these rattling noises. However, a solution of this type does not meet the design requirements encountered nowadays in the automotive industry. Furthermore, the provision of these felt strips necessitates additional handling procedures during assembly of the vehicle.
A further problem associated with seat belt buckle carrier units arises if a pretensioner is provided for the buckle of the carrier unit. The pretensioner should retract the buckle to a defined extent in the event of a crash. To enable this to take place without interruption, it must be ensured that the buckle does not hook on other components located in the passenger space during the pretensioning process.
There is provided in accordance with the present invention a seat belt buckle carrier unit that prevents the occurrence of rattling noises while allowing disturbance-free retraction of the buckle of the seat belt buckle carrier by a pretensioner.
The present invention provides a seat belt buckle carrier unit comprising a connecting element and a fixing device. In a preferred embodiment, the fixing device is formed by a spring steel wire, which is fixed at one end and with its free end, exerts pressure on the connecting element. The position of the spring steel wire ensures that the connecting element and the buckle adopt a predetermined defined position. This position can be selected in such a way that the seat belt buckle carrier unit, in particular the buckle, rests on the external contour of the associated passenger seat. The seat belt buckle carrier unit is therefore reliably prevented from striking against other parts in the passenger space. If a pretensioner is provided, it is also ensured that the buckle and the connecting element each invariably adopt a position, which is such that they cannot hook on other parts located within the passenger space in the event of a crash.